Chicago clothing store loses $3,000 worth of jeans in flash robbery

A mob of more than 20 teenagers descended on a trendy Wicker Park shop on Saturday and made off with more than $3,000 worth of jeans.

CBS 2′s Derrick Blakley reports the incident was caught on store surveillance cameras, and the owner posted the video on YouTube.

Luke Cho said he hopes the images help police find the robbers, or maybe even shame the parents of the teens enough that they’ll turn the kids in.

From the moment the teens started flooding in the door at Mildblend Supply Co. on Milwaukee Avenue around 6:40 p.m. Saturday, Cho knew something wasn’t right.

“You see a group a group of teenagers walking in — or marching in — one-by-one. As you can see, it looks like it’s some kind of procession,” Cho said while reviewing the surveillance video on Sunday.

To Cho, it looked like a flash mob was about to rob the store, so he immediately locked the door.

“At least I think I kind of maybe stopped the flow a little bit, but I quickly realized something bad’s about to happen, and I alerted my staff to call 911,” Cho said.

Most of the group flocked to an corner of the store right beneath a security camera, and appeared to know exactly what they were looking for: an exclusive, expensive brand of jeans called Nudie Jeans, which average about $200 a pair.

“We happen to be one of the few that sell Nudie Jeans in the city,” Cho said.

The teens tried to get out of store, but not before doing more shopping, stuffing their backpacks with merchandise, while other teens outside tried to get in.

“At the time when I locked the door, they’re banging on the door,” Cho said.

Eventually, the teens figured out how to unlock the door themselves, and rushed into the streets, which were packed with crowds from the Wicker Park Fest, making it easier to blend in.

“I think if they zero in on a product they want to steal, they’re going to go anywhere, and basically organize, and plan it to hit what they want,” Cho said.

Cho said it took police 30 minutes to reach his store after the 911 call went out about 6:45 p.m. on Saturday. He said officers told him they were delayed by the many street closures for Wicker Park Fest.

Cho called the incident organized looting, pure and simple. Police confirmed they’re investigating the robbery, but have made no arrests as of Sunday afternoon.